SYRIA OFFERS TO ADMIT (SMALL) NUMBERS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003036

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR PRM AND NEA
BAGHDAD AND CAIRO FOR REFCOORDS HILL AND CHEYNE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2016
TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL UNRWA UNHCR IZ SY JO
SUBJECT: SYRIA OFFERS TO ADMIT (SMALL) NUMBERS OF
PALESTINIANS FLEEING IRAQ

REF: A. DAMASCUS 1853


B. BAGHDAD 1153

C. AMMAN 2016

D. LEHMBERG-KANESHIRO 04/25/06 E-MAIL

Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Embassy Damascus has cleared this message.


2. (C) SUMMARY: UNHCR Damascus and UNRWA each report that the
SARG has in fact agreed to admit Palestinian refugees fleeing
Iraq during Palestinian FM Zahar's April 20 visit to Damascus
(ref A). However these UN agencies caution that the SARG is
trying to limit that commitment to the small group of
Iraqi-Palestinians who have been camped on the Jordan-Iraq
border since mid-March. Fifty additional Palestinian
refugees fled to that makeshift border camp over the weekend;
UNHCR's regional missions anticipate that Syria's offer will
continue to act as a &pull factor,8 but have been unable to
confirm whether the SARG would also admit later arrivals.
Separately, FM Zahar wrote to the UNRWA's ComGen April 22
asking her to take the lead in transporting the Palestinians
on the Iraq-Jordan border, raising questions about Jordan's
willingness to facilitate their transit, and about UNRWA's
capacity to expand into cross-border operations. If
requested by the Department and in close coordination with
concerned posts, refcoord is ready to pursue potential
facilitation of re-locating Iraqi-Palestinians to Syria
utilizing PRM's third country national transport program for
Iraq executed by the International Organization for Migration
(IOM). END SUMMARY.

UNHCR AND UNRWA CLARIFY SYRIA'S OFFER
--------------


3. (C) In separate April 24 telcons, UNHCR's mission to Syria
and UNRWA told refcoord that SARG authorities responsible for
refugee admissions had confirmed Palestinian Authority FM
Mahmoud Zahar's claim that Syria agreed to receive some
Palestinians fleeing Iraq during his April 20 visit.
However, both refugee agencies caution that their contacts
stressed that Syria intends to limit its new commitment to
the comparatively small population of Palestinians who have
already fled to the Iraqi-Jordanian border (reftels). UNHCR
Syria Representative Abdelhamid El Ouali told refcoord that
officials in the Syrian MFA's International Affairs
Department who participated in FM Al Muallim's bilateral with
Zahar confirmed that Muallim offered a one-time admission
that applies only to Palestinians in the makeshift refugee
camp on the Iraqi side of the Karameh-Trebil border crossing.
Separately, UNRWA Director of Operations Lex Takkenberg
reported that the Director General of Syria's Office of
General Administration for Palestinian Arab Refugees (GAPAR)
also confirmed that the SARG wants to contain its commitment
to that border population.

PULL FACTOR ALREADY AT WORK
--------------


4. (SBU) Zahar's announcement, however, has already
encouraged additional migration of Baghdad Palestinians.
UNHCR Amman Representative Rob Green reports that 50 more
Palestinians arrived at the Karmeh-Trebil crossing on the
Jordan/Iraq frontier late April 22, bringing the current
population of Palestinians at the Jordanian border to 238.
Rumors of additional movements towards Syria persist, but
UNHCR has not confirmed any new arrivals at Syrian border
crossings as of April 27.

UN AND PLO PRESS SARG ON NEXT STEPS
--------------


5. (C) To confirm whether the SARG's admission offer excludes
the more recent border arrivals and to explore the SARG's
intentions to provide direct assistance for the new
Iraqi-Palestinian arrivals, the UN Resident Coordinator in
Damascus requested an urgent meeting with the SARG MFA on
behalf of UNHCR and UNRWA April 26. However, UNRWA reports
that MFA officials were unprepared to answer any of their
questions at that meeting, and asked the UN to defer
discussion on the issue until the SARG could form an
inter-agency committee to review its position. The PLO
Department of Refugee Affairs (DORA) office in Amman has
subsequently confirmed with GAPAR that that committee has
been formed; According to DORA DG Mohammed Abu Bakr, GAPAR
assured him they would have &answers8 on Sunday (April 30).

PA FM ASKS UNRWA TO CARRY OUT CROSS-BORDER OPS

-------------- -


6. (C) In the meantime, UNRWA is considering how to moderate
PA and the SARG expectations. Director of Operations
Takkenberg told refcoord April 24 that UNRWA could extend its
basic health, education and relief services to 250 new
arrivals in Syria without asking for additional resources
from donors, but confirmed that UNRWA has no capacity to
stand-up a reception center and has no available housing or
land in its 10 existing camps in Syria. To rent private
housing in Syria, UNRWA would have to seek additional
resources from donors, the SARG or possibly UNHCR, given the
precedent it established in Jordan in 2003. (NOTE: UNHCR
continues to transfer $30,000 a year to UNRWA to provide cash
and food assistance to the 386 Iraqi-Palestinians who were
allowed to leave Ruweished camp in August 2003 and reside
indefinitely in Jordan, but who are unable to work due to
limitations placed on their residency permits. END NOTE.)
Privately, Takkenberg hoped the SARG would re-assess the
option of turning to UNHCR, which could house the new
arrivals in its existing camp in El Hol.


7. (C) Takkenberg also revealed that UNRWA is already faced
with a pending request from the PA. According to Takkenberg,
PA FM Zahar wrote to UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Abu
Zayd April 22 asking UNRWA to contact the SARG to expedite
the transport of Palestinians on the Jordan-Iraq border.
Takkenberg was confident that UNRWA would try to turn over
any cross-border tasks to UNHCR given that UNRWA has no
operational experience in Iraq. Separately, UNHCR Jordan
Representative Rob Green confirmed that the UN Resident
Representative in Damascus has already approached Jordan's
Ambassador to Syria to request transit for the border
population. Green, however, was skeptical that Jordan would
respond positively to this request, explaining that the GOJ
has already expressed concern that the Palestinians camped on
its border intend to become permanent residents given that 10
of them are married to Jordanian nationals.


8. (C) Jordan is unlikely to facilitate transit for
Palestinians leaving Iraq, even those with firm third-country
admission offers. With USG funding, IOM runs a successful
program to voluntarily relocate stranded migrants in Iraq.
In the past, with facilitation from Embassy Baghdad's
refcoord and in coordination with the Department, IOM has
worked cooperatively with MNF-I to ensure safe passage for
several hundred persons through the Iraq-Syria border. In
conversations with Amman refcoord and PRM, IOM has said that
it can organize the relocation of the Palestinians from the
Iraq border (through Iraq) to Syria, assuming official
authorization from the SARG. IOM has the capacity to provide
air or overland transport under its existing third country
national transport program for Iraq. Using this USG-funded
program may be a feasible method of relocating the group, and
avoids having to demarche the Government of Jordan for cross
border operations by UNRWA (or other organizations) or other
arrangements for intra-Jordan travel. Should the Department
and relevant posts consider such an outcome desirable,
refcoord is ready to engage those organizations necessary to
pursue this option.

Visit Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/

HALE